The Dark Witch, page 10
part #3 of Crimson Black Series
“Sounds like me,” I answered recalling the nights, but they were not night terrors or nightmares. It was the things that haunted me while I slept that frightened me. “I’m surprised my grandmother told you.”
“She only tells us about some things that go on,” Marietta confessed. “Like for instance, what happened to you—But not because she wanted to expose your personal life. She needed support from us. It’s not every day you almost lose a grandchild. You can imagine how upset she was. I was even taken-back by it. You’re such a special girl, you know. The moment you were born, your grandmother was the happiest we had ever seen her, since she always wanted a granddaughter. All your aunts and uncles only had boys. It seemed unlikely a girl would be born under the new generation.”
“I’m not that special,” I uttered faint enough for her not to hear me, while lighting a cigarette from my uncle’s pack. The taste of the bitter tobacco and the nicotine eased my racing thoughts about what I shared about the woods. “I’m just cursed.”
“Look up at the stars, Kristen.” We looked up at the night sky. “The universe is vast and full of mystery. You may feel small and powerless in this world. But on the contrary, you’re quite powerful. We all are. It’s only a matter of perspective and how you think. Rise above those insecure thoughts and you might actually experience things in a different light, beyond the darkness. Just like those stars that are always there, but we could never see them and appreciate them until it’s dark like this. It’s only then you can truly see what beauty the night offers.”
“You sound like my uncle,” I stated.
“Rainer—well, he learned all of this from me and Elenore. Because he too struggled just like you.”
“Hm… Maybe that’s why he and I get along so well.”
“Marietta,” my grandmother called for her. “Why are you so far with the wine bottle?”
“Our glasses are empty, darling.” Elenore lift her glass to show. “Bring that behind of yours over here.”
Marietta smile at me once more before getting up and bringing the bottle over to them. They looked happy together, laughing as she filled their wine glasses and toasted to the sky. I wanted to be like them, happy and laughing without worry. However, the wound on my chest throbbed, and I knew, destiny had a different path laid out for me. I didn’t know if it was meant to have cheerful laughs in this life. However. like the stars above within the darkness, it offers a beauty more wicked than the woman who gave me this curse.
Only the night knows…
May the stars share its secrets…
CHAPTER 9
The Forest of Forgotten Dreams
Part I
THE NIGHT WAS LONG AND RESTLESS with only nightmares in the darkness. A childlike voice whispered in my dreams. “Kristen…” It was absolutely black where I was and no warm light in sight within the cold lonely space. The darkness was suffocating, and I struggled to breathe through my anxiety. ‘Where’s the light? I need the light.’
“Kristen…” I heard the voice of a little girl softly call out my name. She sounded clearer, as if she was right next to me. I swear I could feel her breath on my cheek.
“Kristen…” My eyes flew wide open in confusion, my tank-top and shorts soaked in cold sweat.
There was a heavy sensation on my chest. When my eyes finally focused, I noticed Casey standing on my breast. It was her dog breath I felt on my skin, she was peering straight into my eyes. I choked for a second as my heart nearly burst out of my rib cage.
“What the F—Casey…!.” I breathed in relief. “Dang-it dog—what-the hell… You scared the crap outta me!” She licked my cheek, and it tickled enough to force me into laughter, instantly making me calmer. “What are you doing?” I peeped over at a digital clock set on the nightstand. “Are you serious? It’s four in the morning!”
Through the locked door, the floors creaked under heavy footsteps down the hallway, like boots stomping down the staircase. “Must be Uncle Rainer, getting ready to take off for the job site.” I suggested to Casey while listening to him, shuffling through the downstairs corridor and into the kitchen. “The whole idea is to wake-up after dawn, not before.” I sighed laying back into the pillow. “Where did that voice come from?” Casey cocked her head.
All of a sudden, something slammed into the window, terrifying us both. I sat up, quivering in fear until I discovered that it was the owl from my dreams. She thrashed on the glass with her wings and scratched it with her claws. “What the…” Casey gazed at the creature and didn’t snarl nor bark at its presence. “Are you watching this?” I gawked at her, rotating in a circle, and later looked at me with her tail wagging. “Sheesh—some guard dog you are…”
The owl kept scraping at the window until a voice invaded my mind like the wind. “Find the path.” I realized the voice was referring to that vision of the branched archway that appeared in my thoughts.
“What will I encounter there?” I thought, wanting to know more. But the owl took off into the night without an answer. “Great…” I looked at Casey. “Since you woke me up, you’re gonna join me in the woods tonight.” I yawned, still exhausted. “Up for an adventure?” She spun in a circle and bounced from the bed, waiting by the door. “I’ll take that as a yes!” It didn’t take long to slip into a pair of jeans and a hoodie which I zipped up over my tank-top. I bypassed my sneakers beside the bed and continued into the closet and found my black tactical boots. Wearing regular shoes would be a risk, given how dark the woods were without the aid of sunlight. It would be a bumpy hike in the last hours of darkness.
I surmised my uncle and grandmother were still downstairs, I could hear their rustling directly below me in the kitchen. The floorboards were old and worn down, so they creaked with every movement. “Crap.” I took off my boots once the floor created a resounding snap. After realizing they made too much noise, I carried them by hand across the hallway. Casey seemed to have the right plan walking slowly behind me, not letting her nails tap. If they heard her they’ll probably just think she’s being a dog walking around. So, I wasn’t particularly worried about Casey making a noise. However, if I dropped my heavy boots by accident, it would mean the end of sneaking out without them noticing. The occasion brought back memories of my adolescence all over again, when I used to sneak out at midnight to meet with Phyla and Maddox down in the woods. We’d sneak out just to hang out, drink beer and smoke cigarettes all night.
Casey and I entered my grandmother’s master bedroom, which was near my room. The light was already on as she’s been up before four, making my uncle coffee and breakfast like she does every morning. She has always had a strict schedule so I knew she wouldn’t be back until six, when he left for work. By now he should have finished breakfast, so time was of the essence to leave the room. In haste I checked around, looking at all the framed snapshots of her and my grandfather. I quickly scanned old family pictures of us together for Christmas.
The furniture in the bedroom consisted of antique relics, just like everything else in the house. One was an enormous gilded rectangular mirror along the wall near the door. By the king-sized bed, hanging over the big flower carved headboard, was an oil painting by an original artist my grandmother knew. Like most of my grandmother’s friends, they presented her with extraordinary gifts. This one in particular was an image of a lady standing in the sea. She wore a blue skirt that merged in with the ocean, observing a city far away in the backdrop. It was fascinating. However, there was something else I noticed about the room that never occurred to me until now. It seemed clean, energy-wise. It was like wandering into a serene space, compared to the rest of the house which didn’t have such tranquility. Then I overheard something move on the vanity.
“What was that?” I mumbled to Casey on the floor, peering up at me. I tuned in again, and something rustled on the stand. When I looked closer, there was a jewelry box near the vanity mirror. Within a second of staring at it, the lid suddenly sprung open on its own. “What the hell…” I gasped. The paranormal events took its toll as it made my adrenaline pump until the pulse throbbed in my throat. “Should I…?” I asked Casey, not knowing what to do.” I wrestled with the temptation to either go over to the vanity or leave it alone. “We needed to escape before my grandmother comes back upstairs… It shouldn’t be too long now.” My uncle always left in his white van, parked outside near the garage.
Time was of the essence, but Casey trotted over to the vanity with her tail wagging as if this was an ordinary day and there was nothing to worry about. “Dang-it.” I uttered, while following behind her. “We need to hustle!” I kept glancing out the door, slipping back and forth, until I stopped in the box's presence and saw my grandmother’s ring inside.
The ornament was a unique family heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter for generations. It is the oldest antique item throughout the household, and even more ancient than the records in my family’s memoirs. Those my grandmother encased in the study. They dated as far back as the Middle Ages, before the English language became simple and readable text. Although, this ring saw firsthand the history of the world through this white and black crystal. More than the lineage bound to the silvery-band and the story of its kin.
A master goldsmith mended together these polar opposite crystals into sheer excellence, suggesting the harmony of light and darkness. The cabochon cut gem emphasized its elegance to pair with the Princess they gifted it to, based on my grandmother’s bedtime tales. The goldsmith mounted the one of a kind crystal into a wide silvery-gold band, engraved on both sides the Celtic pattern of a tree. Why the symbol of a tree for the design, my grandmother never discussed. Even though it resonated with me the insignia of the tree, it reminded me of how much I loved the forest.
“This ring has always fascinated me, Casey.” I plucked it up gently from the crimson velvet pad and gripped it between my fingers. While kneading the engravings, the band and crystals shimmered before my eyes as I wore it on my left ring finger. “This would’ve made a magnificent engagement ring.” I felt like it was the most precious object to own. Casey whimpered, bringing me back to the present.
I stuck the ring back in the box and closed the lid once again. “Strange,” the word uttered out then, right after my uncle opened the door into the garage and slammed it shut. “Shit…” I slid over to the sliding door and saw him walking outside towards the van. “We have to wait until he backs out.” I looked at Casey standing next to my leg, waiting patiently for the next move. However, my grandmother walked through the hallway downstairs. My heart thumped hard to rhythm of her footsteps on the floorboards. With each step, I was closer to freaking out. Sweat even formed on my forehead, that’s how fearful I was of being caught. Then I said, “The hell-with-it.” I slid open the door and Casey slipped by as soon it was wide enough. I kept opening and squatting as low as possible before stepping out onto the long-stretched balcony.
The darkness shrouded me behind the rails and away from my uncle’s peripheral vision. Wearing the black hoody helped blend me into the night, as he stepped into the van and started the engine. I pulled my hood over my head and covered most of my pale face from getting his attention.
After closing the sliding door once again, I watched him through the rails just sitting in the driver’s seat, looking at his flip phone, and lighting up a cigarette. The flare, burning on the tip was like a beacon in the dark with how focused I was on him from the high distance. “Sheesh—really.” I wanted him to get moving. The stairs down to the ground were just to the left. But we couldn’t go until it was clear, or we would risk being seen since the garage spotlight illuminated the steps more than the balcony.
Casey waited by the first step and I took a peek through the glass to see if my grandmother had entered the room yet. I was aware that if she did, she could see us through the sliding door. “Come on—leave already.” I kept glancing back, checking for my grandmother since her slippers flapped on the top floor at the far end of the house.
My uncle cranked the handle on the side of the steering wheel and switched it into reverse. He looked at the side mirror and then slowly backed down the gravel driveway. Right at that moment, I rushed a quarter way down the steps, and Casey followed, treading each step one by one. When I glanced back towards the door, I saw my grandmother’s shadow moving in the room, towards the sliding door. She stood there for a few seconds and I pressed my body against the wall, holding my breath. Casey stopped too next to me and waited until she closed the curtains in the room and locked the door. I exhaled and my muscles relaxed in relief because she didn’t notice us.
Once it was clear to move, we descended the old weathered steps, trying not to make any loud noises. When we reached the bottom, I slipped on my boots and made sure my laces were tight enough to keep my ankles from bending. As soon as I made sure I tied them good, we walked the wooden walkway to the end of the house, avoiding the gravel at all costs. The rocks would make too much noise if we walked on it near the house. The quietest way was to stroll over to the far corner, towards the railing that kept us from tumbling over into the hill of the yard. I picked up Casey and held her. “Sorry, girl.” Then I grasped the top of the splintered wood and leaped over in one jump, tumbling in the grass, and shielding Casey from hitting the ground. The back of my hoodie rolled up while sledding mid-way down the hill. When we were at a full stop, I released Casey from my arms. She plopped on the grass and shook her fur around like she just got out of a bath.
The coldness of the wet grass tickled my bare back as I struggled to pull down my jacket. It sent a shiver throughout my body, making me snuggle the cotton cloth that barely kept me warm from the chilling breeze. “That was a soft landing—don’t you think?” Casey jumped on my lap and licked under my chin. I moved her to the side and then struggled to get up; however, the ache in my behind made it difficult to stand straight without hunching over in pain. I patted the rear of my jeans and it was wet from the morning dew on the ground. “Great.” I groaned.
Suddenly, there was flapping in the subtle wind that blew in from the south. A whirlwind brushed through my hood, pushing it back until the cool breeze brushed through my long hair. I listened and spotted the owl approaching us from high above in the sky. She circled around us a few times before gliding to a tree nearby, and then perched on a branch. It’s white and gray wings radiated a glowing white aura off its feathers. She was something out of a dream, staring at me with her flawless blue eyes. Then it leapt off the branch and flew into the sky again and glided through the exit in the yard my uncle used to enter, in and out, with the tractor.
Before following her, I straightened my jeans and adjusted my hoodie until it felt comfortable to walk on. Casey trotted alongside me through the exit and onto the gravel. We crossed into the grass, entering the wide field. The owl flew towards the entrance into the woods and darted through the trees as our guide in the darkness. The owl was easy to follow with its shimmering feathers, radiating brighter in the distance from us. It was near to pitch-black the further we hiked out into the forest until I could barely see Casey on the ground with her black fur.
The Crickets chirped in the darkness as we walked along the rough trail. It wasn’t as quiet, hearing the fox screams, creatures crawling in the brush, and the twigs snapping around us. All the obscure noises made me anxious, not being able to see didn’t help either. There was no way of knowing what lay in wait in the trees at this hour. The Bears could have hidden behind the thick trunks of the vast trees, the Coyotes could hunt us in the brush. Watching, waiting to attack, or the wild cats that roamed this mountain, waiting for a small dog like Casey to wander into their domain. At the mere thought, I picked Casey up and carried her the rest of the way.
In my dreams it wasn’t this dark. I recalled the Fairies in the branches guiding the way. Now there was only the owl showing me along the path. We trekked through the field where the dead tree still stood, partially cut. We passed by it and within a short distance was the archway.
The owl perched on top of the arch, waiting for me to walk under. I grasped onto Casey tighter than usual, when a flash of memory showed me the same path I took as an innocent child. Wandering these woods, following the light of the Fairies. It didn’t look the same; it being gloomy as the black wound that pulsed on my chest. I gasped in pain, not knowing what to do next.
Suddenly, her eyes stared down at me and a faint whisper entered my mind. “Have no fear in your heart.”
I clutched my chest, breathing deep in uneasiness.
Your path begins here.”
The throbbing eased as I remembered how fearless I was as a child, standing all alone in the darkness. The brave little girl I was then, the woods was a mere magical place, not a place to fear. As a child I had more guts to embark on an eerie adventure. If I were still a child, it would have been the journey of a lifetime. I would’ve leaped at the first chance to explore. However, I am no longer a child.
Now I’m searching for her courage once again in this forest of forgotten dreams…
CHAPTER 10
The Forest of Forgotten Dreams
Part II
SHALL WE ENTER? Or turn back before it’s too late? There are only two choices, standing before the entrance to the path. Once we cross the threshold of the arch, there’s no turning back, and this mark will have chosen my fate. The mysterious Owl revealed nothing about what Casey, and I would encounter beyond the blackest part of the forest. However, despite the circumstances, Casey remained courageous and exhibited no fear towards the owl, nor the unknown that remained ahead.
